"What Republicans don't understand is that this is about children, not politics. People are looking at this as concerned parents, not as Republicans or Democrats. It's disgraceful that Speaker Hastert and the Republican leadership didn't stand up for our children and do the right thing when they learned about the problem years ago, rather than a week after it became public. They chose to protect Congressman Foley and their party instead of the victims. Americans don't want to see finger pointing from the Republican leadership, they don't want to see the Speaker dodging tough questions. They want to see the people involved unequivocally stand up, take responsibility for their failures and investigate immediately."

The Buck Stops Where?

Hastert Says He Takes Responsibility. "I'm deeply sorry this has happened. The bottom line is that we're taking responsibility. Because, ultimately, as someone has said in Washington before, "the buck stops here." [Speaker Hastert, 10/5/06]